| Actual Image
African Leopard - My 2nd Butterfly (74)
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![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5435 W: 593 N: 3649]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (10027) | African leopard - Phalanta phalantha aethiopica
The first butterfly I ever photographed Speckled Fire, I had to work for. I mean, I lost weight running after many butterflies without much success. This one, my second, literally fell in my lap when I least expected. There I was, visiting the Pretoria Zoo, to shoot all the scarce and interesting animals which I cannot see in the game park, and what do I get? Hundreds of beautiful butterflies.
My wife and I were visiting the African savanna waterhole where I wanted to photograph some eland, gemsbok, and sable antelope, but they were all lying at the far side of the ±1½ hectare camp. We walked around the fence, hoping to be able to approach from the other side, only to find the walkway stopped and the bush took over. That was a small handicap for a determined photographer and no reason to stop me in my efforts. We simply proceeded in to the long grass and the black-jacks. True to animal behaviour once we came close they all disappeared. As one, they skedaddled to the other side of the camp where we just came from. I knew this was going to be a game of 'Catch me if you can' and I realised I will be on the loosing end.
Being an eager photographer whose fun had been spoilt, I obviously exercised my knowledge of foreign and exotic languages, but the antelope was not to be convinced and they remained uninterested in my predicament. However, my camera was switched on, the batteries charged, and the memory rather empty so I was not going to leave without something to show. That's when it happened. We suddenly became aware that, in our efforts to approach the antelope, we actually landed in an area that was riddled with beautiful wild flowers and we were surrounded by butterflies and bees fluttering about from flower to flower. So, obviously the camera started working overtime and this is the result of one of those photos. There I was, 700km away from home, running after stubborn animals in the Pretoria Zoo, and I got to shoot insects. How ironic?
Description
Wingspan: 40-48mm. Medium sized, fast flying and agile butterflies. Restive and wary, they sit with wings constantly moving up and down. Both sexes are similar. Extremely similar to the forest leopard and very difficult to tell apart. Forewing marginal line unbroken by paler interneural spots, ground colour with richer orange hue. The male vigorously defends his territory. Both sexes attracted to flowers and wet mud.
Habitat
Forest edges, flatlands, mountains, hillsides, parks and gardens.
Distribution
Savanna and woodland from Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Northwest Province.
Flight period
In cooler areas, Oct-Apr; in warm areas, all year-round, peak late summer and autumn.
Source: "Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa", by Steve Woodhall, published by Struik.
Post Processing was done with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. |
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